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Gerald Johanssen
Gerald Martin Johanssen is a fictional character in the Nickelodeon animated television series Hey Arnold!. He is the titular character's best friend. Gerald is often acknowledged as the token black character for the show. He was voiced by Jamil Walker Smith throughout the entire run of the series, even as Smith went through puberty (the voice change was explained away when "Gerald's Tonsils" were removed). Gerald is Arnold's best friend — which usually means he's on the scene when Arnold's latest escapade happens. Gerald is also the occasional voice of reason (just when Arnold needs it). Gerald has a good deal of knowledge of many legendary stories in the city, or "urban legends" as he calls them ("Stoop Kid" was the first he told, while "Ghost Bride" was the last). He apparently gets these myths from a source he has nicknamed "Fuzzy Slippers", mentioned in many episodes as his reliable assistant. Until Arnold taught him, Gerald did not even know how to ride a bicycle ("Gerald's Secret"). Gerald's catchphrases usually were "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?", "You're a bold kid". But Gerald's interest in Urban legends gave him a fright in one episode ("Four-Eyed Jack") after Gerald said there's no such thing as ghosts, but at the end of the episode while Gerald is asleep, the ghost awakens him and says a simple "boo" before Gerald screams loudly. The ghost disappeared afterwards. At school, Gerald is the class president ("Cool Party", "Mr. Green Runs"), and considers himself very cool, and apparently, so do his friends. When it was revealed that Arnold was on Rhonda's so-called "Cool List", and that Gerald was on her other list known as "The Geek List" (due to a grudge Rhonda had against him over running for class president), many classmates were surprised to find this out ("Cool Party"). He seems to know a great deal of children's street culture. Gerald may be beginning to notice that Phoebe is paying more and more attention to him — and the feeling could be mutual, although Gerald does accept a date to a dance from an older girl in "6th Grade Girls". (There weren't any "Gerald and Phoebe" scenes in any of the second season episodes, but Phoebe has "that look" after Gerald's solo in "Gerald's Tonsils", and they're together throughout Rhonda's party in "Hey Harold!".) Gerald's last name is spelled "Johanson" in the first season and "Johanssen" in the second season, although it's spelled "Johannsen" in the credits for "The High Life" and "Johansson" in the credits of the "Urban Adventures" tape; since Gerald signs it "Johanssen" in "The High Life", that's the spelling used here. Gerald's most distinct features are his hi-top fade (classmate Helga often calls him "Tall Hair Boy"), and his shirt with the number 33 on it (he also wears 33 on sports uniforms, a reference to Scottie Pippen). In the episode "Gerald's Tonsils" Gerald is a soloist of chorus, and in the episode "Arnold As Cupid" he's briefly seen playing violin. Family * Timberly Johanssen — Gerald's little sister. She is usually causing trouble due to her desire for attention or naturally childish behaviour. Unlike all the other children on the show, Timberly seems to get older throughout the series: At her first appearance, she is mentioned to be four years old, but she already attends the first grade in "Timberly Loves Arnold". * Jamie O Johanssen — Gerald's older brother, who causes trouble for him. * Martin Johanssen — Gerald's sometimes strict father, complains about wasting electricity. * Mrs. Johanssen — Gerald's very kind mother, keeps family together. According to the comics "Gerald's Haircut" Gerald has a bald uncle named Maurice. Relationships * Connie — A sixth-grader who was Gerald's "date" at the school dance in "6th Grade Girls", but it turned out that all she wanted was to make her boyfriend Burt jealous. She became the first girl to give Gerald a kiss. * Chloe — an older girl who recently moved into the neighborhood, and hung out with Gerald to get closer to his older brother. Gerald felt betrayed after the truth was revealed. * Phoebe — Although not much is known about the two, they have shown signs of possibly like-liking each other. Their first interaction was in Operation Ruthless when they were riding swan boat together and walking home while holding hands. Then it was shown by Phoebe that in Roughin' It she admired Gerald's camping skills. Also, in Gerald Moves Out a potrait of Phoebe is shown in Gerald's daydream. Then in Wheezin' Ed when they were paired up together to head in a direction in one of the tunnels, they looked at each other in a romantic way. Also they are seen dancing together in school dance .In the planned spin-off show,'' The Patakis'', Gerald and Phoebe would have been a couple. However, the show never went ahead. In the episode Phoebe Breaks a Leg, when Helga cleans Phoebe's locker there is a picture of Gerald on the inside. See Also *"Phoebe and Gerald: Lovers in the Background" published by Shieldmaiden56 on "Hey Arnold! – A Critical Analysis" Appears in 24 Hours To Live, 6th Grade Girls, A Day In The Life Of A Classroom, Abner Come Home, April Fool's Day, Arnold As Cupid, Arnold Saves Sid, Arnold Visits Arnie, Arnold's Christmas, Arnold's Halloween, Arnold's Hat, Arnold's Thanksgiving, Arnold's Valentine, Back to School, Bag of Money, Beaned, Benchwarmer, Best Friends, Big Caesar, Buses, Bikes, and Subways, Career Day, Chocolate Boy, Chocolate Turtles, Coach Wittenberg, Cool Jerk, Cool Party, Crabby Author, Crush On Teacher, Curly Snaps, Dangerous Lumber, Das Subway, Deconstructing Arnold, Dinner for Four, Door Number 16, Downtown As Fruits, Eating Contest, Eugene Goes Bad, Eugene's Bike, Eugene's Birthday, Eugene's Pet, False Alarm, Field Trip, Fishing Trip, Fighting Families, Four-Eyed Jack, Freeze Frame, Friday the 13th, Full Moon, Gerald Comes Over, Gerald Moves Out, Gerald vs. Jamie O, Gerald's Secret, Gerald's Game, Gerald's Tonsils, Ghost Bride, Girl Trouble, Grandpa's Birthday, Hall Monitor, Harold's Bar Mitzvah, Harold's Kitty, Haunted Train, Headless Cabbie, Heat, Helga Blabs It All, Helga's Boyfriend, Helga's Love Potion, Helga's Makeover, Helga's Masquerade, Helga's Show, Hey Arnold!: The Movie, Hey Harold!, Hookey, It Girl, Jamie O In Love, Longest Monday, Love And Cheese, Magic Show, Married, Monkeyman!, Mr. Hyunh Goes Country, Mudbowl, Mugged, New Bully on the Block, New Teacher, Operation Ruthless, Oskar Gets a Job, Parents Day, Part Time Friends, Partners, Phoebe Breaks A Leg, Pigeon Man, Ransom, Rhonda Goes Broke, Rich Kid, Roller Coaster, Roughin' It, Runaway Float, Sally's Comet, Save The Tree, Sid And Germs, Snow, Spelling Bee, Stoop Kid, Summer Love, Synchronized Swimming, Teachers' Strike, The Aptitude Test, The Baseball, The Big Scoop, The High Life, The Journal, The List, The Little Pink Book, The Pig War, The Sewer King, The Vacant Lot, Timberly Loves Arnold, Tour de Pond, Tutoring Torvald, Veterans Day, What's Opera, Arnold?, Wheezin' Ed, World Records Category:Characters Category:Johanssens Category:Arnold and his classmates Category:Sunset Arms residents Category:Gerald Category:Heroes Category:Males